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The Film Theorists - Is The Red Man Really Defeated?
The episode starts with MatPat watching Cartoon Network. He then sighs and turns the TV off. *'Matthew:' A lot of awesome cartoons they have and they insist with Teen Titans Go! all day long? I remember when CN had variety. Where's Looney Tunes? Where's Scooby-Doo? Where's the classic The Powerpuff Girls? Where's the good DC shows? Most importantly, Where's Waldo? He turns to the audience and laughs. The Film Theorists theme then plays. *'Matthew:' Hello, internet and welcome to another Film Theory! Today we are tackling Warner Bros.' biggest animated franchise. The Looney Tunes theme plays. *'Matthew:' No, it's not that one. The Scooby-Doo theme then plays. *'Matthew:' It's not that one either. The classic The Powerpuff Girls theme then plays. *'Matthew:' That's not even a franchise. Anyway, like it was for Disney and Nickelodeon, the 1990s were the golden decade for Warner Bros. Entertainment. The pictures of the respective franchises, companies and channels are shown as he speaks. *'Matthew:' The studio turned 75, Bugs Bunny turned 50, DC was back in the animation map, we saw new concepts like Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Freakazoid!, Collin the Speedy Boy, Free Willy, ER, The Dinosaur Princess and, of course, Friends. Yet, their biggest step was taken in 1997 when they merged with Turner, giving them the ownership of New Line Cinema, CNN, TNT, Hanna-Barbera and, of course, Cartoon Network. But in 1998, they made a good animated film franchise, possibly the only successful one from the 1990s after some previous fiascos like Cats Don't Dance and Quest for Camelot or before later fiascos like The Iron Giant. No, I'm not saying that I don't like them. I'm saying they didn't do well. From the animated films that Warner produced in the 1990s, this one and Space Jam were the only ones that were box-office successes. Yet, Space Jam was criticized by some, including frickin' Chuck Jones. But this film isn't. I'm talking about The Mystic Woods. He shows a clip. *'Matthew:' The Mystic Woods was Warner Bros.' response to Disney's blockbusters from that decade, at a time DreamWorks started to show its claws. It even includes one of the stars of one of its movies. Robin Williams, who voiced the Genie in Disney's Aladdin earlier that decade, voiced the protagonist's comedic imp partner. And that protagonist was voiced by no one else than Drew Barrymore. Most precisely in her post-''Scream'' and pre-''Charlie's Angels'' phase. The plot is really simple, it follows a teenage girl that discovers she has the abilitity to communicate with the supernatural. But there's one important character: the big bad himself, the Red Man, voiced by John Glover. (notices) Wait, you don't know who John Glover is? Remember when Smallville aired on The WB and then on The CW? He was Lex Luthor's father. He also voiced the Riddler in the Batman animated series. He plays a scene from the film. *'Red Man:' (archive footage) You want to know the real reason I'm here, you foolish hero? Simple, to kill you. *'Miranda:' (archive footage, gasps) There's a lot of questions, but I'm going to pick the most obvious one: why? *'Red Man:' (archive footage) I want to. Especially since you tried to ruin my goals to create a perfect world where there's eternal peace and no war. Matthew is frightened. *'Matthew:' Sorry, it's just that... (sighs) childhood nightmares. If Finding Nemo wasn't bad enough... this is five times worse. Especially in a PG-rated movie. But now to get on topic. The Red Man might be an antagonist, but he has a good goal: to make a perfect world. The problem is... that's completely impossible. But that's a theory for another day. Like every film villain, he gets defeated. But what if he actually assumed a new form? Two years later, Cartoon Network premiered an animated series set after the film's events. Neither Drew or Robin reprise their roles on it as they are busy and expensive. As a result, their characters are voiced by sound-alikes. Miranda is now voiced by that chick who voiced other characters on TV like Lola Bunny from Looney Tunes, Princess Sally from Sonic SatAM, Phil and Lil DeVille from Rugrats, Fifi La Fume and Lil' Sneezer from Tiny Toon Adventures amongst others as Implo is now voiced by the same guy who is usually Robin's voice double, also voicing Ultron in Avengers Assemble. But let's focus on the theory at hand. Another excerpt is played. *'Miranda:' (archive footage, sighs) Oh my... Is he...? *'Implo:' (archive footage) Yep. He's dead. Coco meows. *'Matthew:' Oh, is he?! A dramatic sound effect plays. *'Matthew:' I think not! Let's take a closer look to the supposed death scene. He rewinds the film. It cuts to his defeat. *'Matthew:' Look at his hand. Suspicious, right? It is red. If you watched the cartoon series, the Red Man still appears through Miranda's nightmares and hallucinations. What if they weren't? What if I told you that the Red Man entered Miranda's mind? Let me explain. While the Red Man seems to be dead physically, his spirit could have always assume a different form or he might even possessed her and she didn't notice. I'm shedding light on the second one for many purposes. In the cartoon series and later sequels, Miranda slowly stops to be a lazy and somehow dumb and scaredy girl and becomes a mature, brave and intelligent girl, but she still is mischievous and kinda naïve. You think she did it by herself? Let's see a bit of the cartoon series. He plays a clip. *'The Hermit:' (archive footage) Ah, young Malinda... *'Miranda:' (archive footage) It's Miranda. *'Matthew:' Ooh, he watches Translator Fails? Kidding! Let's just continue. *'Miranda:' (archive footage) I need some advice. *'The Hermit:' (archive footage) I'm listening, young Melissa. *'Miranda:' (archive footage) I'm having some problems with my friend Chelsea as she is love with a vampire. I'm not saying he's a bad person or that I'm jealous, especially since I'm dating Michael. But I'm afraid he might have second intentions. What should I do? *'Matthew:' Simple: kill him! Grab a stake or give him garlic! Simple! *'The Hermit:' (archive footage) It ain't easy, young Mikayla. Vampires are known for one thing: once they have their prey in mind, they attack and turn them into their loyal servant. *'Matthew:' If this was set during the film, Miranda would probably act nuts and probably act like a maniac just to prove he's a bad guy. But no, this proves my theory. Miranda's gradual maturity might be a result of her fears of the Red Man coming back to life or worse, the Red Man is already in her mind. Miranda has a distinctive trait from other Warner Bros. heroes like Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, the Powerpuff Girls, Collin the Speedy Boy, Princess Kitrina, Charlotte Painex or Abigail Peacekeeper: she's a girl haunted by her past or just likes to trick people and like Bathsheba Sherman, she's possessed. Yes, it's true that Batman is haunted by his past due to watching his parents' murder as a child, but Miranda isn't even in control of her body. Concluding: Miranda might not even be Miranda, but actually the Red Man assuming the control of her body. But hey, that's just a theory. A film theory. It's up to you to agree or not with me. Episode ends. Category:Videos Category:YouTube Category:The Mystic Woods Category:Coolot's ideas Category:DonaldoC1997's ideas